Much Ado About Nothing
by Rashka
Summary: The famous English wordsmith helps yet another couple express their feelings. Although I don't think he had this couple in mind.
1. Chapter 1

Much Ado About Nothing

Disclaimer: don't own anything recognizable. Yu Yu Hakusho, Marvel, Yugioh and the Shakepearean sonnets belong to their respective creators. I'm just playing with the universes.

Author's Note: Sonnet numbers at the end of each section. On rewatching the Yu Yu Hakusho series, I've noticed how often Botan plays the Ditz, despite dealing with death, politics, police work, criminals, and other dangers that would kill a truly oblivious person. Hence, my interpretation.

My Kurama/Botan stories exist in the same universe as my Yugioh stories, with the same mythology regarding the Underworld and Afterlife. Hence the disclaimer. But don't freak; I don't pack all of that into this. Just a few references.

Chapter 1

Botan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Tokyo, Japan. Strange how no matter when she came here, it always felt the same, busy and reaching yet so impossibly small.

Still, she loved the city, loved the noise, the bustle, the dreams and voices. And one voice in particular drew her to a little café off the main street. There, in the corner of the front window, sat a young man with fair skin and long, blood-red hair. His green eyes flitted quickly over the book he held in his hands, his posture easy and relaxed despite the chaos on the other side of the glass. Botan smiled and headed inside.

"Morning, miss," the barista said from the counter. "Be right with you."

"Oh, no rush. Really." She smiled then walked towards the little two-person table. He sat with his back to the wall, of course he did, and she could imagine he heard every conversation. Heard, processed, and dismissed almost every word, like a snake filtering scents. Her smile widened when she saw the title of the book.

"' _Three winters' cold,'_ " she quoted. "' _Have from the forests shook three summers' pride, three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turned, in process of the seasons have I seen.'_ "

He looked up, eyes brightening.

"' _Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burned,'_ " he said. "' _Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green.'_ "

Smiling, he stood and gave her a hug.

"Good to see you, Botan."

"Hello, Kurama, I've missed you. May I?"

"Of course, please." Kurama gestured to the chair and they sat down again. "I didn't expect you until next month. Is everything all right?"

"We'll get to that in a minute. You know Shakespeare?"

Kurama smirked.

"Are you really surprised?" he asked.

"Not at all. How have you been?"

"Very well, thank you. I've been accepted into Tokyo University. Classes start in a few months."

"Congratulations! What are you studying?"

"Not sure yet. For now, I thought I'd just get the preliminaries out of the way."

"And your mother? Your family?"

"Fine." The fox tilted his head. "You're a terrible liar, Botan. What is it?"

Blinking, she blushed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yes, well…" She cleared her throat. "I've been transferred. Or, I'm trying to get transferred anyway. I've put in my request to be the Spirit Guardian for Mt. Mitake. Genkai's compound specifically."

"That's brilliant."

"Really?" She tried a smile. "I just thought it would be a good move since the compound's kind of turned into a crossroads."

"I think it's an excellent move. When will you know?"

"Oh, it'll be a while yet. Certainly not before the wedding but I thought I'd speak to the group and see what they thought. Do you think we could gather everyone for a quick meeting?"

"Yes, I think so. Saturday would probably work best. Do the others know you're in town?"

"No, you're the first."

His grin grew just a bit smug, eyes glinting with mischief.

"In that case," he said. "Leave it to me."

*sonnet 104


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Saturday? You're kidding, right?" Yusuke hiked his bag higher up his shoulder as they walked. "Keiko's been up my ass and around the corner with this wedding crap."

"Yes, I can imagine she's been stressed," Kurama said. "It's for a good reason."

"You're asking; of course, it's a good reason." He sighed. "Can you tell me what it is?"

"No." The redhead winked. "I promised I'd keep it a surprise."

"So it's like that, huh? Okay. I'll talk to Keiko, see what I can do. You gettin' the whole band back together?"

"As many as I can, yes."

"Kay. Be nice to see what Shizuru's done with the place. You heard about her 'problem kids'?"

"As a 'problem kid' myself, I rather hate the term."

Yusuke chuckled.

"Well, if anyone can get through to 'em, it's her. We're thinking about helpin' out in the summer, start like a camp thing. Give kids someplace to feel safe, at least part of the year."

Kurama smiled.

"I'll do my best to help," he said. "Will you be able to contact Kuwabara?"

"Yeah, I'll get him. You gettin' Hiei?"

"I'm going to try. Mukuro's keeping him busy." At Yusuke's snicker, Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Yes, get it out of your system now."

"Relax, I'm not entirely stupid." Looking up, he sighed again. "Okay, I'll see you Saturday. Hopefully."

"Until then."

K

The rest of the group was fairly easy to track down. In the three years since Sensui, the humans and youkai that made up their dysfunctional little family had all begun to build their own lives. It was rough, even painful at times. Once a person entered this life, it clung to you, no matter how far you ran or how hard you fought. That wasn't always a bad thing but it did add a layer of…drama.

On the other hand, near-death experiences and crazy arch-nemeses tended to change the scale a bit. College papers and job applications suddenly weren't so scary anymore.

"Genkai's?"

"Is it another case?"

"What do you need? Is there gonna be a fight?"

Perhaps real life was even boring.

K

Kurama arrived at Genkai's compound early, slipping through the main house on quiet feet. The place didn't have a name yet. The property, the temple, the training grounds, the forest. It was a vast and beautiful sanctuary that played host to any number of humans and youkai at a given time. Layers upon layers of protection had been added, from spirit shields to no-fly-zone orders. He would have to ask how Shizuru planned to guard against angry children that talked too much. It was a terrible risk to admit young people into this world. Too much hot blood looking for a fight, looking for a way to punch the pain into submission. One careless comment to the wrong person…

Later. He could scent a certain ferry girl in one of the far meditation rooms. Turning a corner, he made his way to that part of the house until he reached a small, sparse room of tatami mats and simple silk scrolls. Botan sat on the windowsill. There was no light but he didn't need it as he walked closer.

"' _Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'_ " He asked softly.

"' _Thou art more lovely and more temperate:_

 _Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,_

 _And summer's lease hath all too short a date:_

 _Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,_

 _And often is his gold complexion dimmed,_

 _And every fair from fair sometime declines,_

 _By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed:_

 _But thy eternal summer shall not fade,_

 _Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,_

 _Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,_

 _When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st.'_ "

With an overly-sweet smile and adoring eyes, Kurama sank to one knee and took her hand.

"' _So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,_

 _So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.'_ "

Botan scowled good-naturedly then her lips pulled into a teasing little smirk.

"' _A woman's face with nature's own hand painted,'_ " she said.

"' _Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion;_

 _A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted_

 _With shifting change, as if false women's fashion:_

 _An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,_

 _Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;_

 _A man in hue all hues in his controlling,_

 _Which steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth,_

 _And for a woman wert thou first created;_

 _Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,_

 _And by addition me of thee defeated,_

 _By adding one thing to my purpose nothing._

 _But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure,_

 _Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure.'_ "

Kurama groaned and moved to sit next to her on the windowsill.

"You wound me," he said, putting a hand over his heart. "Cruel, faithless woman."

"Serves you right, using that cliché mess on me. I expected more from you."

"Challenge accepted. I told the others around eleven."

"That's fine." Botan glanced out the window again. "I shouldn't be this nervous. I mean, these are my friends."

"They're also fighters." He tilted his head. "Please, try to remember: any careless comments are from ignorance, not malice."

"I know. I know; it's just…" She looked down at her hands, picking at her bright orange kimono. "I'm afraid they won't understand. The rules…"

"Botan." He put a hand over hers. This would be where a normal man would comfort her, maybe hug her or tell her to have faith.

"How do you want to play this?" he asked. Botan took a breath.

"Nominal," she said. "Spirit World wants someone to keep track of the compound, I'm not a threat, and they already trust me."

"And the drama with Koenma's father?"

"Above my pay-grade. This is a diplomatic move from Koenma to protect his people and get his father off his back."

Kurama narrowed his eyes. It wasn't the best reasoning but it wasn't bad.

"This is a site of great spiritual power," he said. "It would be irresponsible for Koenma to let it fall into disrepair."

She smiled.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, that's it exactly."

"All right." Standing, he held out his hand. "Come have breakfast with me. We've several hours before the others arrive."

"Aw." She took his hand and stood, slipping her hand into the crook of his arm as they headed out of the room. "You want to spend time with me? That's so sweet."

"So long as you don't call me a woman again."

"I didn't call you a woman; I said you were as _pretty_ as a woman."

Stopping, Kurama looked up at the ceiling then slowly turned his head to look at her. She blushed and dropped her eyes.

"I mean, you're devastatingly handsome and I appreciate everything you do."

"Better."

*sonnet 18, 20


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It went well. Sort of. Kurama sat with the others as Botan stood and announced her plan to become Mt. Mitake's Official Spirit Guardian. As they all loved her, the response was enthusiastic and Kurama thought maybe he'd worried over nothing.

Then Kuwabara had to make a bad joke.

"Well, it's not like it'll be a hard job," he said. "Not with all us men here."

Kurama closed his eyes.

"Aye, we're behind you all the way, we are," Jin said with a happy smile. "We'll take care of ya; no worries."

Which, of course, had the rest of them chiming in with their support and pledges.

"Oh, thank you," Botan gushed. "You're all so sweet. Now remember, I haven't got the job yet. I just wanted to make sure you weren't tired of me."

Another chorus of assurances and rowdy declarations as Botan smiled and bounced. Kurama kept his hands and face relaxed but it was a struggle not to grit his teeth. They didn't know. They meant well. They just didn't know.

The rest of the day descended into playfights, food, and loud, animated stories. It was only Keiko corralling Yusuke that finally broke up the party and it took another couple hours for everyone else to drift away.

At last, Botan was ready to leave. It took only a glance from her for Kurama to accompany her to a clearing well away from the main house. They walked in silence, their feet crunching on the grass.

"Well, that went beautifully," she said after a while. "Don't you think? Everyone was so great and supportive."

"Yes." He glanced at her. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine." She dabbed the corner of her eye and tossed her ponytail. "So what will you get up to while I'm gone? You never mentioned a girlfriend."

"I don't have one."

"Oh, don't say 'boyfriend.' You'll break my heart."

He let her have that one, shooting her a mild glare instead of, say, throwing her over his shoulder.

"I don't have one of those either," he said dryly. "I'm simply focusing on school. Which hasn't stopped my mother, my father, my brother, my teachers, my classmates, and my friends from asking _why_ I'm still single."

"Well, of course they do!" She hooked her arm through his. "I bet you'd make cute babies. Oh! That's what it is! Your mom wants grandchildren, of course!"

"Please, don't."

"…do you have children already?"

"No, I do not have children already."

"Really? How old are you?"

"Old enough that I don't need this conversation."

Giggling, Botan rubbed her face against his shoulder.

"Really," she said. "You need someone and you're in a good place now.

"' _Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest,_

 _Now is the time that face should form another,_

 _Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,_

 _Thou doest beguile the world, unbless some mother._

 _For where is she so fair whose uneared womb_

 _Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?_

 _Or who is he so fond will be the tomb_

 _Of his self-love, to stop posterity?_ '"

They reached the clearing, the wind rippling over the grass as she turned to face him.

"' _Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee_

 _Calls back the lovely April of her prime;_

 _So thou through windows of thinge shalt see,_

 _Despite of wrinkles, this thy golden time._

 _But if thou live remembered not to be,_

 _Die single and thine image dies with thee.'_ "

Kurama smiled.

"Safe travels, Botan."

"Thank you." She summoned her oar and flew away.

*sonnet 3


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The demon fell to the ground in pieces and Botan flicked the blood off her sword. Her charge, a young woman who'd been hit by a car, sat completely oblivious on the oar. For all she knew, the trip was uneventful and too quick to really even remember. She'd just wake up in Koenma's office and be taken to be processed by one of the paper girls. The woman would never notice the blood on her toes or the scratches on the oar or the bits of…something in Botan's hair.

That was the way of things. As an agent in the Violent Crimes Division, Botan was assigned to those who had died violently and was legally authorized to defend her charges from the Hellspawn that threatened their souls. Only defense. Only on trips _to_ the Reikai. Never in the Makai, never in the Ningenkai. Never when it would _matter_.

Clearing her throat, Botan Changed, her armor morphing into the cute pink kimono and bouncy ponytail, and jumped back on the oar.

"Right," she said, sighing. "Off we go."

A few minutes later, she dropped off her charge and went to write her report.

B

"Any news on my application?" Botan asked. Koenma shook his head.

"Not yet," he said. "I'm sorry; you know this takes time."

"I know." She folded her hands in front of her. "It's just I thought the Makai Tournament would be long enough. I don't think I can sit through another one."

"I know how hard it is to watch." Koenma stamped a few papers a little harder than necessary. "Believe me. I've been watching for millennia and it doesn't get any easier."

"'Ours not to question why.'"

"'Ours but to do or die.'" He closed the folder and handed it to her. "Next case. You'll be working with the Children's Unit. Suicide in Harajuku."

Tears pricked her eyes as she took the folder.

"Yes, sir."

B

Four more cases, five more Hell-demons, and a particularly prissy Children's Unit ferryman later, Botan's shift ended. She didn't even bother to turn on the lights in her room. She just shut the door, padded over to the bed, and fell face-first into the comforter. A crinkle of paper poked her eyebrow.

"No," she groaned. "No more paperwork."

Hauling herself up, she glared at the offending envelope.

"Please, don't be a summons. Please, don't be a summons."

Kurama's neat, straight handwriting met her eyes and she sighed, the relief strong enough to make her dizzy.

"You beautiful fox." Settling against the headboard, Botan kicked off her shoes and began to read.

' _Sweet love, renew thy force; be it not said_

 _Thy edge should blunter be than appetite,_

 _Which but to-day by feeding is allayed,_

 _To-morrow sharpened in his former might:_

 _So, love, be thou, although to-day thou fill_

 _Thy hungry eyes, even till they wink with fullness,_

 _To-morrow see again, and do not kill_

 _The spirit of love, with a perpetual dullness._

 _Let this sad interim like the ocean be_

 _Which parts the shore, where two contracted new_

 _Come daily to the banks, that when they see_

 _Return of love, more blest may be the view;_

 _As call it winter, which being full of care,_

 _Makes summer's welcome, thrice more wished, more rare._ '

Her smile hurt and she sobbed into her hand. Silly. Just a poem by a dead Englishman that some people thought didn't exist but it was nice and sweet and she was so _tired_.

Sniffling, Botan hurried over to her desk and pulled out some paper. Her favorite pen sat in a jar in the corner of her desk, a standard plastic thing but a couple years ago, she'd taped a silk rose to it. She grabbed it now, tapping the petals against her lips as she thought.

' _If there be nothing new,_ ' she wrote. ' _But that which is_

 _Hath been before, how are our brains beguil'd,_

 _Which labouring for invention bear amiss_

 _The second burthen of a former child._

 _Oh that record could with a backward look,_

 _Even of five hundred courses of the sun,_

 _Show me your image in some antique book,_

 _Since mind at first in character was done,_

 _That might see what the old world could say_

 _To this composed wonder of your frame;_

 _Whether we are mended, or where better they,_

 _Or whether revolution be the same._

 _Oh sure I am the wits of former days,_

 _To subjects worse have given admiring praise._ '

Two days later, she received a tube bearing a 17th century silk scroll painted with a nine-tailed kitsune. She smiled.

*sonnet 56, 59


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Yusuke's bachelor party was everything one might expect it to be, which was why Keiko wisely insisted that it be a held a full week before the wedding. All bruises and hangovers must be gone by then, she said, lest she light them all on fire. Kurama was fairly certain he could take her but he didn't particularly want to push it.

So the weekend before the wedding, the menfolk of Spirit, Demon, and Human Worlds gathered at Genkai's compound and raised nine kinds of hell. Shizuru was spared, Keiko having decided to have a girl's weekend of her own to unwind. Kurama hoped Botan was able to attend.

Then time and duties snowballed one after the other until, suddenly, it was the day of the wedding. Kuwabara stood with Yusuke at the front of the small, white church and Keiko's cousin, Miyu, walked ahead of her down the aisle. Kurama made sure not to make eye contact with that one.

After the sweet, simple ceremony full of perhaps a little more honesty than Keiko's parents were comfortable with, they all drove over to the reception hall where they ate and danced.

Well. Most danced. Kurama hung off to the side, trying to be as unobtrusive as a six-foot-tall redhead could be. It was really a testament to how much he loved Yusuke and Keiko that he was here at all. This many single women and their mothers with marriage on the brain…He was not too proud to admit he was counting the minutes before he could leave and not be rude.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Botan's voice made him look up and he smiled. She wore a light pink sundress that fell down to her knees, the chiffon layers clinging nicely to her figure and flipping when she walked.

"If I didn't know any better," she said with a grin. "I'd say you were hiding."

"Shh, don't give it away. Enjoying yourself?"

"Mm-hmm." She held out her hand. "Dance with me?"

"Must I?"

"If you look that good in a suit, you have to."

"Ah, so you like me in a suit?" He took her hand.

"I'd like you not in the suit too." She blinked. "Not like that!"

Kurama just laughed and drew her onto the dance floor.

"You just made my day," he said, pulling her into his arms. "Thank you."

"Ha!" Botan smiled, bright and happy, and he started to lead her through the dance. Such as it was. All of their friends were still young and the 'grown-ups' were too careful so there was really just a lot of swaying in one place.

"They're watching you," she whispered.

"I'm aware."

"' _For shame deny that thou bear'st love to any,_

 _Who for thyself art so unprovident._

 _Grant if thou wilt, thou art belov'd of many,_

 _But that thou none lov'st is most evident;_

 _For thou art so possessed with murd'rous hate_

 _That 'gainst thyself thou stick'st not to conspire,_

 _Seeking that beauteous roof to ruinate_

 _Which to repair should be thy chief desire._

 _O change thy thought, that I may change my mind._

 _Shall hate be fairer lodged than gentle love?_

 _Be as they presence is, gracious and kind,_

 _Or to thyself at least kind-hearted prove._

 _Make thee another self for love of me,_

 _That beauty still may live in thine or thee.'_ "

Kurama took a breath.

"Botan, I love you dearly, but if you persist with this tedious campaign, I will feed you to my Ojigi Plant."

Giggling, Botan ducked her head.

"Okay okay, I'll let it go," she said.

"Thank you."

The song ended and he swept his eyes over the crowd.

"Would you like to meet my parents?" he asked.

"They're here? Of course. Oh, but wouldn't that make trouble for you?"

"You're a friend." And that was all he would say if his mother pressed. Slipping her hand into the crook of his arm, Kurama led Botan off the floor and towards a round table in the corner. His parents were talking and watching the dancers while his brother, Kokoda, sat looking appallingly bored.

"Mother, Father," he said. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Botan."

His mother brightened immediately and stood to give Botan a hug.

"So nice to finally meet you, dear," she said. "I'm Shiori. This is my husband, Kazuya, and my son, Kokoda."

"Shuichi's told me so much about you." Botan returned the hug eagerly then shook his father's hand. When she got to Kokoda, the woman held up her hands.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," she said. "I know this. The Avengers and…Kingdom Hearts, right?"

Kokoda blinked, his eyes clearing.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, do you play?"

"I'm trying but I am having the hardest time with that stupid Tarzan fight. The chameleon?"

"The one with Clayton? But that's easy!"

"Yeah." She shot Kurama a wry look over her shoulder before turning back to Kokoda. "So I'm told. Your brother is completely useless."

The fox grinned as they all sat back down and Botan chattered away with the boy.

"I like her," his mother whispered. He smiled back. Already, he could see the wheels turning in her head, analyzing every tidbit he'd ever dropped in conversation. But he hadn't lived this long by being careless. He didn't speak of Botan any more than the others of the group, which was seldom as it was. She'd find nothing.

"Botan, there you are." Yukina approached the table, her smile as gentle as ever. "Keiko's asking for you."

"Oh dear." Botan winked at the boy. "Duty calls." Standing, she bowed slightly to the family. "Pleasure to finally meet you all. Enjoy the rest of the wedding."

"Good to meet you too," his mother said. Botan smiled at her, touched Kurama's shoulder, then followed Yukina to a hall off the side.

"I like her," Kokoda declared. "You should ask her out."

"I think she likes you better," Kurama said. His brother scoffed.

"Too old. She's closer to you."

Ah, out of the mouths of babes.

"What does she do?" Kazuya asked.

"Hospice." The not-quite-lie rolled off his tongue. "She specializes in victims of traumatic experience. It doesn't leave a lot of free time; we met through Yusuke when he was an intern at a detective agency a few years ago."

"That takes a strong heart," Shiori said. "Bless her. What a kind smile."

"Better be careful though," Kazuya said. "That kind of job will burn you out."

"Yes, I think it's coming to that," Kurama said. "She's put in a transfer to a different department. I think she's going to try and get a job as an in-house caretaker for the temple on Mt. Mitake."

"With Kuwabara's sister?" Shiori asked. "I can't remember her name."

"Shizuru. Yusuke's expressed interest in starting a summer camp for kids like him."

"That's wonderful. I'm so proud of all of you."

Kurama smiled at her, heart warm, and took a sip of his drink.

"Kurama!" Kuwabara's huge hand clapped down on his shoulder. "Kurama, hurry! Miyu's coming this way!"

Kurama shot to his feet.

"Excuse me, Mother. I'll find you later."

He was gone before she'd caught up enough to laugh, tearing through the guests with the speed and agility of his former self. Too soon, he heard Miyu's shrill, insistent voice catching on the edge of his hearing. He gritted his teeth. Usually, crowds were a boon for a thief but that screeching cousin of Keiko's had a demon's nose for single men. He'd managed to avoid her over the years, claiming school work or that his mother needed him. But here…

"Gotcha!" A slender hand grabbed his shirt and yanked him sideways through a small door. It was only the scent of peonies that stayed his hands. He blinked. The kitchen? No, the pantry. Botan pushed him closer to the wall, away from the small window, and held a finger to her lips.

After a moment, Miyu's shadow passed the door and disappeared.

"Look at that," Botan said. "Saved you again."

"Yes, it seems I owe you one."

"How'd I do with your parents?"

"You were perfect. I think you have a fan now, actually."

"Aw, Kokoda's a sweet kid."

"I think so." Glancing out the window, Kurama sighed and let his head fall back against the wall. "I hate weddings."

The woman in front of him just snickered.

"Must be torture being so popular," she said. "I feel so badly for you."

"Ah, cut to the quick again."

She laughed and he felt it was worth it even if Miyu caught him later.

*sonnet 10


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

' _If the dull substance of my flesh were thought,_

 _Injurious distance should not stop my way;_

 _For then despite of space I would be brought,_

 _From limits far remote, where thou dost stay._

 _No matter then although my foot did stand_

 _Upon the farthest earth removed from thee;_

 _For nimble thought can jump both sea and land_

 _As soon as think the place where he would be._

 _But ah! Thought kills me that I am not thought,_

 _To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone,_

 _But that, so much of earth and water wrought,_

 _I must attend time's leisure with my moan,_

 _Receiving nought by elements so slow_

 _But heavy tears, badges of either's woe._ '

"Ooh, poetry. Anyone I know?"

Kurama jumped, quickly flipping the letter facedown on the desk.

"Mother!"

Shiori just laughed and kissed his cheek.

"I'm just teasing, dear," she said. "That from Botan?"

"I…yes." He narrowed his eyes at her and she grinned, moving to sit on the edge of his bed.

"I'm old, sweetie, not dead. Everything okay?"

Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"She's lonely," he said. "The job's getting to her but I don't know how to help."

"Just let her know you're here for her. What does she say?"

"Just Shakespearean sonnets. She was surprised I knew any of them by heart."

"And you couldn't let that slide."

"Of course not." He grinned. "If I have a sin, Mother, it's vanity. We all know this."

She laughed again; it was so wonderfully easy with her.

"'If.' My dear, humble son. So much in that one sentence."

He smiled but, on thinking of the letter, it fell and he looked back at his desk.

"She writes as if I've died," he said. "This isn't the first time we've gone a long time without seeing each other."

"Maybe it's the first time since she's been in this place."

"This place."

"Shuichi, you are brilliant in so many things." Though proud, the sentence almost came out like a sigh. "How many girls your age do you know that would focus completely on your little brother instead of you? And tease you on top of it?"

"None."

"Which means she knows you enough to know attention like that bothers you."

"She's a good friend."

"Is she?"

He knew what she was asking, hoping, and he leveled his gaze on her.

"Mother, please."

"Just promise me you'll be careful." She stood and came over to gently kiss his forehead. "She seems like a sweet girl. Don't lead her on."

"I won't."

"Okay. I'm going to make dinner. I'll call you when it's ready." She left. He kept reading.

' _The other two, slight air and purging fire,_

 _Are both with thee, wherever I abide;_

 _The first my thought, the other my desire,_

 _These present-absent with swift motion slide._

 _For when these quicker elements are gone_

 _In tender embassy of love to thee,_

 _My life, being made of four, with two alone_

 _Sinks down to death, oppressed with melancholy;_

 _Until life's composition be recurred_

 _By those swift messengers return'd from thee,_

 _Who even but now com back again, assured_

 _Of thy fair health, recounting it to me:_

 _This told, I joy; but then no longer glad,_

 _I send them back again and straight grow sad._ '

Sighing, Kurama ran a hand through his hair. Botan's heart was too gentle for a Reaper. Maybe if she'd been assigned to one of Sleipnir's units for old age and natural deaths, things would be different. But she was one of Fenrir's, a Wolf of Niflheim, of mist and brutal ice. She was as likely to be attacked by her charges as Hellspawn.

It made his chest hurt.

Still, if a letter was all he could do, then he'd write. The last one seemed to help a bit so maybe more in that same vein. Pulling out some computer paper, Kurama grabbed the sleek black fountain pen his father had given him as a graduation present.

' _Let me confess that we two must be twain,_

 _Although our undivided loves are one:_

 _So shall those blots that do with me remain,_

 _Without thy help, by me be borne alone._

 _In our two loves there is but one respect,_

 _Though in our lives a separable spite,_

 _Which though it alter not love's sole effect,_

 _Yet doth it steal sweet hours form love's delight._

 _I may not evermore acknowledge thee,_

 _Lest my bewailed guilt should do thee shame,_

 _Nor thou with public kindness honour me,_

 _Unless thou take that honour from thy name:_

 _But do not so, I love thee in such sort,_

 _As thou being mine, mine is thy good report._

 _When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see,_

 _For all the day they view things unrespected;_

 _But when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee,_

 _And darkly bright, are bright in dark directed._

 _Then thou, whose shadow shadows doth make bright,_

 _How would thy shadow's form form happy show_

 _To the clear day with thy much clearer light,_

 _When to unseeing eyes thy shade shines so!_

 _How would, I say, mine eyes be blessed made_

 _By looking on thee in the living day,_

 _When in dead night they fair imperfect shade_

 _Through heavy sleep on sightless eyes doth stay!_

 _All days are nights to see till I see thee,_

 _And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me._ '

Maybe a little heavy-handed but maybe she'd find it funny; there were several different kinds of dreams, after all. He folded the letter, sealed it in an envelope, then summoned a little fox avatar. Silver and translucent, the small thing was made entirely of his own spirit energy, both for convenience and security. He handed the envelope to the fox.

"Off you go, then."

"Kazuya? Boys? Almost time for dinner! Wash up!"

Carefully setting his pen back in its box, Kurama straightened his shirt and ran another hand through his hair before heading downstairs.

*sonnet 44 and 45, 36 and 43


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The knock on the door was almost lost in the thunder.

"What is it, sweetie?" his mother asked. Frowning, Kurama hurried to the front door and opened it to see Botan standing on their porch, soaked to the bone and crying.

"I'm having a bad day," she said. He pulled her inside and shut the door.

"Mother!"

"What's wrong, Shu-Oh! Botan, sweetheart, what happened?"

Before Botan could answer, his mother was rushing up the stairs. She appeared a moment later with an armful of towels. Kurama grabbed one and quickly wrapped it around her shoulders, rubbing her arms to get her warm.

"Come sit down," he said. She let him lead her without any effort at all, as if her body was on auto-pilot. That coupled with her dazed eyes reminded him unnervingly of a trauma victim succumbing to shock.

"Mother, could you make some tea?"

"Of course, dear. Get her settled in the living room. I'll get her some clean clothes."

"Thank you."

It truly was amazing how fast humans could move when they felt the need. Within minutes, Botan was in a pair of dry pajamas from his mother, wrapped in three blankets, and sipping a mug of jasmine tea. Once again, Kurama felt a surge of adoration that his mother could do such a thing for a woman she'd only met once.

"Botan." His arm had never left its place around her shoulders. "Do you need anything?"

Botan shook her head.

"It was kids," she said, eyes welling again. "All week. Gangs."

He tightened his grip. Another downside of working for the Fenris Wolf: many violent deaths were intentional and, because of that, one of Narvi or Vali's girls often worked with them. Botan knew more people in the Children and Young Adult Units than any other unit combined.

"Well." Shiori put her hands on her hips. "You'll just stay with us tonight."

"What?" Botan's eyes widened. "No, I couldn't. I don't—I just—I wasn't thinking—"

"We're not leaving you alone like this. She'll stay in your room, Shuichi."

"Mother!"

"Oh, I'll make up the couch for you. Don't worry. Now, you stay here and get warm. I'll let Kazuya know what's going on."

"But—"

Shiori shot her a look then walked away, prim and decided. Botan blinked.

"Wow," she said.

"Explains a lot, doesn't it?"

"So much." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go. I'll leave if you want me to."

"Too late. You heard Mother."

"Shuichi!" Speak of the devil. "Could you change the sheets on your bed, please? And ask her if she wants a shower in the morning."

"She can hear you," he called back.

"Well, what did she say?"

Exasperated, he turned to Botan and planted a fake, bland smile on his face.

"Would you like to take a shower in the morning?" he asked. "I believe she's looking for clothes if you don't want to wear your own, which will be clean by morning as well because Shiori Hatanaka is an overachiever."

She was giggling, though at him or his mother, he wasn't sure. Probably both.

"I'd like that," she said.

"Okay." He stood. "Out of respect for the neighbors, I think I'll just go tell her."

"Shuichi!"

"Yes, Mother, I'm coming."

K

A hot meal and some cold medicine later—"No sense inviting trouble if you don't have to"—Botan was safely ensconced in his room. Kokoda had been a little shocked that a Girl was in the house but after squealing that he didn't have on a shirt and his mother hollering at him to "just go get one," he got over it. Kazuya made an appearance to check on her but his wife was clearly running the show so he just volunteered to make breakfast in the morning and would French Toast be all right?

Kurama thought the ferry girl looked a bit overwhelmed by then and, at great risk of future teasing, took her up to his room himself.

"Help yourself to whatever you need," he said. He'd already straightened up when he changed the sheets but he swept his eyes over the room one more time just in case. "If anything moves, err on the side of caution and don't touch it."

"The Ojigi?"

"Well, that depends on you, doesn't it?"

She stuck out her tongue then glanced away and hugged her arms. His heart clenched. So…tiny.

"Come here." He took a step forward, holding open his arms, and she threw her arms around his waist. As soon as her cheek touched his chest, she started crying again.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

"Shh." He rubbed her back, holding her close. The top of her head barely reached his chin but she fit, in a way. "Don't apologize. If I came to you, you'd do the same thing. Only with more chocolate."

"You don't like chocolate."

"You do."

She gave a weak laugh and lifted her head.

"Thank you, Kurama."

"You're welcome." On impulse, he dropped a light kiss on her forehead. "Get some rest."

"Okay. G'night."

"Good night." He left. When he lay down on the couch downstairs, he could still feel the heat of her hands on his back.

K

The fox woke before anyone else, like every morning. And like every morning, houseguest or no, he went outside to go through three or four katas before heading up for a shower. By the time he was clean and no longer offending himself, his parents were elbow-deep in sticky French Toast mixings and Botan and Kokoda were crowing and elbowing each other in front of the television.

"Ah, Mario Kart," Kurama said, stepping around them to the couch.

"Botan sucks," Kokoda said.

"Only because you keep zapping me!" Botan reached over and fluffed his hair to try and mess him up but the boy just leaned away and hit her with a green shell.

"Don't hate the player," he said. "Hate the game."

Kurama watched them for a few minutes. Rainbow Road, the bane of many a player's existence. Botan fell off. And again. And again. Frowning, he held up his watch. In the span of five minutes, the ferry girl with the supposed reflexes of an Angel, fell off the course twelve times.

"You are spectacularly bad at this, aren't you?" he asked.

"Shut up!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

September. Shuichi Minamino had finally moved out of his parents' house –"Yes, Mother, I'll remember my vitamins"—and into an apartment of his own—"No, Mother, I don't want to live in the dorms. I'll do much better in a quieter space." Yusuke and Kuwabara were more than willing to help him move and in the span of a day, Kurama had all of his worldly possessions in a two-bedroom apartment a few miles from Tokyo University.

He sat on his new couch with a glass of wine in his hand, staring at the boxes stacked neatly against the wall. No, his mother didn't know about the wine. No, he didn't plan on telling her. Some things he was not willing to give up for Shuichi's still under-age appearance and the chance to relax with something that wasn't Ogre Killer was high on the list.

Of course, he wouldn't be able to leave the boxes for long. He estimated maybe an hour or so before his OCD kicked in and he'd have to unpack. Thank the spirits classes didn't start until Monday. That gave him a full three days to mess up his sleep schedule getting everything perfect.

A light tapping caught his attention. Looking up, he saw a certain blue-haired Angel hovering on his balcony. She waved, beaming, and gestured to the sliding glass door.

"Let me in!" she called. Kurama stood and made a show of stretching before walking slowly to the door. By the time he got there, Botan was fairly squealing with impatience.

"Oh my gosh, you are such a brat!" She shoved past him into the living room.

"Good to see you, Botan," he said dryly. "Please, come in."

"I got the job!"

"What?" He dropped the act. "That's wonderful. Congratulations."

"Thank you." She bounced on her feet, her hands clasped up under her chin. "Oh, I'm so happy. No more angry charges, no more lewd hellhounds, no more crying myself to sleep every night, no more worrying about you guys so much I crack my teeth at night. No more!"

Kurama laughed and quickly dug out another wine glass. There was a little towel fuzz on it; he wiped it with a clean corner of his shirt before pouring them both some wine and handing her the new glass.

"To the most underpaid babysitter in existence," he said. "Cheers."

"Cheers!" She clinked her glass against his and took a huge drink. "You have no idea how happy I am, like this boulder has just been lifted off my back. It's amazing."

"I'm happy for you." He sat down on the couch and she plopped down next to him. "When do you start?"

"Monday."

"So soon?"

"Mmm, I'm training this weekend. For a year." She grinned at him, surely waiting for the aneurysm, but he just grinned back. Spiritual time didn't surprise him anymore.

"Have you told Shizuru?" he asked.

"Not yet. I'm going to stop by the temple tomorrow morning before training. We'll have to go over the terms and stuff when I get back."

"Are you sure that's wise? No one really believes in Spirit Guardians anymore."

"No, but she's so aware and we've known each other so long, I thought it would be good to go over what I cover, what I don't, what I'm allowed to do or not do. And I won't be visible all the time. There is a _lot_ of Unseen work and I have to introduce myself to the surrounding agents and all that."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. How do living arrangements work? If you won't be visible all the time, does that mean you won't have a body sometimes?"

"Yes, but there's an allowance for a dwelling so long as it follows all the guidelines." She took another drink. "Like, it can't be anything that people would start worshipping."

"So no shrines."

"No shrines, no temples, no sacred trees. Honestly, I'd rather have just a cute little hobbit hole, you know? Something unobtrusive that I can just go into and hide if I need to."

"That's doable." That was very doable, in fact. Already, he could think of twelve different ways to brace the earth and rock so it wasn't damp or crumbling. Hmm. He'd have to play with that.

"Anyway, I just wanted to share." She drained the last of the wine and stood. "I know you've had a long day so I'll get out of your hair. I'm just so excited!"

"You don't have to go yet. I'm fine."

"No, I really should read the handbook before morning. But thank you for the wine and letting me bounce around."

"Anytime." He set down his glass. "I have something for you."

"Oh?"

"I got it when you first told me you were transferring." Walking over to the boxes, he quickly selected one near the top and started digging through it.

"Oh, Kurama, you didn't have to get me anything. I'm just grateful you've been with me the whole time."

"I wanted to." He found the small box and handed it to her. "Don't open it until you get to your training."

"No Ojigi?"

"No Ojigi."

"Okay." She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "Thank you so much. You're wonderful."

"You're welcome." He hugged her back; spirits, she smelled good. "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Mother will want to congratulate you herself. You might get dragged to dinner soon."

"I look forward to it." Slipping back out onto the balcony, she summoned her oar and hopped onto it. "Well, see ya on the other side."

Kurama watched her leave with a smile on his lips. Well, he was awake now. Might as well get things settled. She might come visit after training, after all.

B

Botan made it through the whole first week without opening Kurama's gift. Not that she wasn't excited; she'd had to sit on her hands to keep from opening it after she left his apartment. But she wasn't sure how rough training would be and having that little box in her sock drawer was a bright spot at the end of what turned out to be a very intense session.

Now she sat on her four-poster bed, the heavy curtains drawn around the frame to offer some privacy from the other three guardians in her class. The little box sat in front of her, flat, about the size of her palm, and wrapped in bright silver paper. She took a breath.

"Okay." With deft fingers, she carefully unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. A piece of white cardstock sat on top.

' _When to the sessions of sweet silent thought_

 _I summon up remembrance of things past,_

 _I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,_

 _And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:_

 _Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,_

 _For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,_

 _And weep afresh love's long since cancelled woe,_

 _And moan the expense of many a vanished sight:_

 _Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,_

 _And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er_

 _The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,_

 _Which I new pay as if not paid before._

 _But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,_

 _All losses are restor'd and sorrows end._ '

Underneath laid a thin platinum chain with a small teardrop pendant the size of her pinkie nail.

"Oh, Kurama." A blue opal, said to enhance personal courage, soothe emotions, and help in overcoming bad habits. She lifted the chain and held it up, the smooth blue stone gently catching the light. It seemed to glow, warm, safe, _home_.

Tears pricked her eyes as she quietly summoned some paper and a pen.

' _As an unperfect actor on the stage,_

 _Who with his fear is put beside his part,_

 _Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,_

 _Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart;_

 _So I, for fear of trust, forget to say_

 _The perfect ceremony of love's rite,_

 _And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,_

 _O'ercharged with burthen of mine own love's might._

 _O! Let my looks be then the eloquence_

 _And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,_

 _Who plead for love, and look for recompense,_

 _More than that tongue that more hath more express'd._

 _O! learn to read what silent love hath writ:_

 _To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit._ '

She figured it would be about ten in the morning, Earth-time, and he wouldn't be free to read it for what would be another few months for her. But that was okay. He was there and that was what mattered.

A flick of her hand and the letter disappeared. The box and card she tucked into her Super Secret Treasure Chest in the aether and the necklace...Her hands shook slightly as she fastened the pendant around her neck. It was cool, almost cold, but already she could feel it start to take on her body heat as it rested against her collarbone.

"Thank you," she whispered and she imagined it pulsed in response.

*sonnet 30, 23


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"You reek."

"Hello to you too, Hiei." Botan swooped down to hover level with the demon riding a giant, shelled…something. "How's life on patrol?"

"Better than life on parole. What do you want?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I came here as a courtesy," she said. "I've been appointed the Official Spirit Guardian of Mt. Mitake and I wanted to keep you in the loop, let you know what all that entails."

Hiei raised an eyebrow at her.

"You'd give away your one bargaining chip because you want to be nice? How do you know I won't sell your loopholes to the highest bidder?"

"Because your honor code won't allow that."

He folded his arms.

"This is foolish," he said.

"So is that a 'yes'?"

Sighing, he slipped off his headband.

"I take no responsibility for your protocols once they're in my head," he said. "Your safety is your own business."

"I understand." She held still while the Jagan sifted through all the rules and diplomatic procedures she'd memorized over the last year. Technically, she wasn't breaking any laws coming to him like this but her peers would still consider it a stupid move. They didn't know Hiei though.

"Or Kurama." Hiei closed the Jagan, withdrawing from her mind with a surprisingly light touch. "Nice necklace."

"Just the protocols, thank you." She shot him a look. "I trust you'll be a gentleman about all this."

"I'm a demon."

"And I'm a player on the field now. You just saw what that means."

He smirked.

"Go. You're making me ill."

"Always a pleasure, Hiei."

B

She hit the ground running. The instant Botan crossed the threshold from the Makai to the Ningenkai, oceans of information just slammed into her. Dozens of crossing spirits, ferrymen, small youkai, humans, psychics, mutants, magic-users, and preternatural powers of all kinds occupied Japan at any one time. Mt. Mitake's spirit energy, with its position on a leyline crossing, attracted a great many of them. Most were benign, even helpful. They just wanted to go about their lives, handle their business without attracting attention.

Of course, the small percentage that wanted to cause trouble was very, very good at it.

"Well, this is annoying." Botan sheathed her sword after yet another small class demon tried to bow up on her.

"Trouble in paradise?" Shizuru asked. Botan turned visible and stepped onto the porch with the other woman.

"Everyone wants to be king on the mountain," she said. "This might be tougher than I thought."

"You're not backing out, are ya?"

"No, just might have to rearrange my plans a little. I have a better understanding of the work now, if you want to go over the contract again."

"Sounds good. I've got some ideas for some of the older youkai, like Jin and Chu. Maybe patrol, back up, intel."

"That sounds good." Botan vanished her sword and followed Shizuru into the house.

B

A month passed, Earth time. They settled into a routine with a plan in place for next summer, when Shizuru and Yusuke would start their camp for spiritually aware kids. Botan thought it was a fantastic idea to keep them from getting involved with something over their heads. The other two were more worried about the kids getting violent or ostracized because they were 'freaks.'

Botan didn't need to ask.

The next time she saw Kurama, the fox was covered in blood, limping from a wound in his side. She found him on the edge of the forest.

"Oh no." Flashing to his side, she helped him lean against a tree. "Anything following you?"

His head lolled, green eyes dazed and unfocused.

"Kurama, are they dead? Is there anything following you?"

"No." He blinked, gritting his teeth, and she could feel his energy start to flux. She batted it away and closed the wound herself. The rest he'd have to do on his own but she was allowed this much at least.

"Are they dead?" she asked again. The very idea that someone could do this to an S-Class youkai… "Kurama, I need to know then you can rest. I promise. Are they dead?"

"…y-yes. They're dead." He took a breath, wincing. "Bit out of practice with sorcerers, I'm afraid."

"We'll talk about that inside." Slipping his arm around her shoulders, Botan helped him to his feet and began the long trek up the mountain. Genkai's property had a lot of houses here and there, more since she started training youkai for the Makai Tournament three years ago. If her map was correct, there was a small building, little more than a shack, about a mile north.

"' _Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed,_ '" he whispered.

"' _When not to be receives reproach of being;_

 _And the just pleasure lost, which is so deemed_

 _Not by our feeling, but by others' seeing:_

 _For why should others' false adulterate eyes_

 _Give salutation to my sportive blood?_

 _Or on my frailties why are frailer spies,_

 _Which in their wills count bad what I think good?_

 _No, I am that I am, and they that level_

 _At my abuses reckon up their own:_

 _I may be straight though they themselves be bevel;_

 _By their rank thoughts, my deeds must not be shown;_

 _Unless this general evil they maintain,_

 _All men are bad and in their badness reign.'_ "

Someone from his past then. With over three thousand years of murder and mayhem, he certainly had a lot of options.

"You are Shuichi 'Youko Kurama' Minamino," she said. "Who cares what people think?"

Kurama laughed, weak and raspy though it was.

"You're sweet," he said. He stumbled, a pained grunt in his throat. She grimaced.

"Sorry," she said. "Almost there."

They walked the rest of the way in silence and when they reached the shack, Kurama all but collapsed on the floor.

"I could have helped you," she said.

"The floor was moving," he said. "Saved your life."

"Right." She rolled him onto his back and started peeling off the bloody clothes.

*sonnet 121

B

It was raining. He didn't have his phone on him but she managed to See far enough to know his mother had no idea he wasn't at school. No one, not even his teachers and classmates, had a reason to worry.

There was something…sad about that.

On the pallet, Kurama shifted. She'd cleaned him as best she could. A good meal and a night's rest and he'd be fit enough to go home. Some focused reiki healing and his plants and he'd be even better.

Not right now though. Right now, he was pale, shivering, his lips almost grey with lack of blood. Botan shifted as close as she dared and gently brushed some hair out of his face.

"' _When I have seen by Time's fell hand defaced,_ '" she said.

"' _The rich proud cost of outworn buried age;_

 _When sometime lofty towers I see down-razed,_

 _And brass eternal slave to mortal rage;_

 _When I have seen the hungry ocean gain_

 _Advantage on the kingdom of the shore,_

 _And the firm soil win of the watery main,_

 _Increasing store with loss, and loss with store;_

 _When I have seen such interchange of state,_

 _Or state itself confounded to decay;_

 _Ruin hath taught me thus to rhuminate_

 _That Time will come and take my love away._

 _This thought is as a death which cannot choose_

 _But weep to have that which it fears to lose.'_ "

His eyelashes fluttered then green eyes opened, weary but clear.

"It would take more than those hacks to kill me," he said.

"I should think so." She reached over for a damp cloth and dabbed his forehead. "I hate this. I hate seeing you like this. All the blood a-and the—It's Karasu all over again—"

"Hey." Kurama touched her arm. "I'm okay. I was careless, that's all."

"That just makes it worse! You do not do this. You do not try and get yourself killed the minute I get transferred. This is unacceptable and it will not happen again."

"' _Tired with all these, for restful death I cry,'_ " he said. She flinched but he caught her wrist.

"' _As to behold desert a beggar born,_

 _And needy nothing trimm'd in jollity,_

 _And purest faith unhappily forsworn,_

 _And gilded honour shamefully misplaced ,_

 _And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted,_

 _And right perfection wrongfully disgraced,_

 _And strength by limping sway disabled_

 _And art made tongue-tied by authority,_

 _And folly, doctor-like, controlling skill,_

 _And simple truth miscalled simplicity,_

 _And captive good attending captain ill,'_ "

Shifting his grip, he ran his fingers up her wrist until they laced with hers.

"' _Tired with all these, from these would I be gone,_

 _Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.'_ "

Tears pricked her eyes and she closed them, the hot drops rolling down her cheeks as she clutched his hand to her chest.

"Don't forget," she whispered, leaning down to rest her forehead against his. "Promise me. Don't forget."

*sonnet 64, 66


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"So whatcha tell your folks?" Yusuke asked.

"A boys' only trip because Keiko was getting tired of you," Kurama said. Yusuke laughed out loud.

"Ain't that the truth."

"What did you say?"

"I had to swear not to get in any fights, scuffles, or altercations, official or otherwise."

"Ah, she's getting better."

"Yeah." Yusuke glanced sideways at him. "Wonder who taught her that."

"No idea."

The Makai for the second official Youkai Tournament, otherwise known as Election Day for Apparitions. Kurama worked ahead so as to miss the full week. Not that he intended to be here the full seven days. No, the Tournament would take three or four days at most but he expected Yomi might want to talk, or Mukuro, and he needed all his wits for them.

Plus a day for healing but they all had an understanding not to talk about sick days. They were tough, manly men, after all.

"Hey, there's Shishi," Yusuke cried. "How ya doin, pixie stick?"

Kurama smiled. It was good to be back.

K

"' _They that have power to hurt, and will do none,_

 _That do not do the thing they most do show,_

 _Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,_

 _Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow;_

 _They rightly do inherit heaven's graces,_

 _And husband nature's riches from expense;_

 _They are the lords and owners of their faces,_

 _Others, but stewards of their excellence._

 _The summer's flower is to the summer sweet,_

 _Though to itself, it only live and die,_

 _But if that flower with base infection meet,_

 _The basest weed outbraves his dignity:_

 _For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;_

 _Lilies that fester, smell far worse than weeds._

 _How sweet and lovely dost thou make the shame_

 _Which, like a canker in the fragrant rose,_

 _Doth spot the beaty of thy budding name!_

 _O! in what sweets dost thou thy sins enclose._

 _That tongue that tells the story of thy days,_

 _Making lascivious comments on thy sport,_

 _Cannot dispraise, but in a kind of praise;_

 _Naming thy name blesses an ill report._

 _O! what a mansion have those vices got_

 _Which for their habitation chose out thee,_

 _Where beauty's veil doth cover every blot_

 _And all things turns to fair that eyes can see!_

 _Take heed, dear heart, of this large privilege;_

 _The hardest knife ill-used doth lose his edge.'_ "

"Uh-oh. I know that face." Yusuke strolled into Kurama's room, shut the door, and leaned back on it. "Someone's in trouble."

Kurama sighed and dropped the letter.

"I may have neglected to tell Botan I was competing," he said. Yusuke whistled.

"There is absolutely no danger of my getting killed," Kurama said.

"Doesn't matter."

"I am perfectly capable—"

"You don't get in trouble a whole lot, do ya?" The younger man sank down next to him on the bed. "My grampa fought in the war. Used to tell us stories about how badass he was, ya know, usual crap. One day, him and my gramma got in a fight and he started ranting about how she always does this, always nags him. Even in the war, she'd send him letters just bustin' his balls about stuff he couldn't change. I mean, he was three hundred miles away; how the hell can he fix a tire on their car?"

"Yusuke."

"Next day, she'd send him another letter, apologizing and saying all these sweet, couple-y things. All the gross stuff you don't wanna hear about your grandparents."

Kurama rubbed his eyes.

"Yes, Yusuke, I'm aware she's worried about me."

"Yup."

A pause.

"I don't know if I can do this," Kurama said quietly.

"Why not?"

"Well, not everyone met their soulmate when they were five."

"Four-and-a-half."

He glared at the younger man, who smirked.

"Can I offer some advice?" Yusuke asked. "As a blockhead that gets in trouble all the time?"

"If you must."

"Don't start a fight from here. And for shit's sake, don't _die_. It'll be all my fault again and my ears just stopped bleeding from the last fight."

"What was that about?"

"Dishes or something; I dunno. Wasn't listening."

They both laughed at that and Yusuke got to his feet, clapping Kurama on the shoulder.

"See ya in the next round," Yusuke said. "I'm gonna take a nap."

"Right." Kurama waited until he shut the door. It was…weird. On one hand, her worry was flattering. A beautiful woman asking after his health was a particular kind of ego boost for a fighter, especially of his caliber.

On the other hand, it was annoying, insulting. Accusing him of slipping into his old habits when she _knew_ how hurtful—But that was it, wasn't it? She knew. Beautiful but cold. Making the bad things look good. That had been his MO for the better part of three thousand years, he'd been lying, playing, manipulating. Twenty years of human contact didn't just erase all of that, especially when he'd fallen back into The Life so quickly. Yes, for good reasons but she'd wept over him multiple times and he'd stepped back into danger's path again anyway.

Reassurances then. For now. They could talk about boundaries and trust issues when he got back.

' _What's in the brain that ink may character_

 _Which hath not figured to thee my true spirit?_

 _What's new to speak, what now to register,_

 _That may express my love, or thy dear merit?_

 _Nothing, sweet boy; but yet, like prayers divine,_

 _I must each day say o'er the very same;_

 _Counting no old thing old, thou mine, I thine,_

 _Even as when first I hallowed thy fair name._

 _So that eternal love in love's fresh case,_

 _Weighs not the dust and injury of age,_

 _Nor gives to necessary wrinkles place,_

 _But makes antiquity for eye his page;_

 _Finding the first conceit of love there bred,_

 _Where time and outward form would show it dead._

 _O! never say that I was false of heart,_

 _Though absence seemed my flame to qualify,_

 _As easy might I from my self depart_

 _As from my soul which in thy breast doth lie:_

 _That is my home of love: If I have ranged,_

 _Like him that travels, I return again;_

 _Just to the time, not with the time exchanged,_

 _So that myself bring water for my stain._

 _Never believe though in my nature reigned,_

 _All frailties that besiege all kinds of blood,_

 _That it could so preposterously be stained,_

 _To leave for nothing all thy sum of good;_

 _For nothing this wide universe I call,_

 _Save thou, my rose, in it thou art my all._ '

The next round, he fought like the demon he could be. Stress relief.

*sonnet 94, 95, 108, 109


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Welcome home, everyone." Botan greeted them at Genkai's temple with Keiko, Shizuru, Kuwabara, and Yukina. "Go get cleaned up. Food and drink have been provided in the cafeteria."

She never looked at him, never touched him. So he went about cleaning up, tending what wounds hadn't healed with his plants, and got something to eat.

Kurama didn't see her again until the next night, having tracked her down to what had become 'her' meditation room. She knelt in the center of the tatami mats, facing the open doors. He could see the forest from here and he could smell pine and peonies. Salt.

"' _Full many a glorious morning have I seen_ ,'" she said, her voice like rustling silk in the quiet.

"' _Flatter the mountain tops with sovereign eye,_

 _Kissing with golden face the meadows green,_

 _Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy;_

 _Anon permit the basest clouds to ride_

 _With ugly rack on his celestial face,_

 _And from the forlorn world his visage hide,_

 _Stealing unseen to west with this disgrace.'_ "

She stood gracefully to her feet and turned to face him.

"' _Even so my sun one early morn did shine,_

 _With all triumphant splendour on my brow;_

 _But out, alas, he was but on hour mine,_

 _The region cloud hath mask'd him from me now._

 _Yet him for this my love no whit disdaineth;_

 _Suns of the world may stain when heaven's sun staineth.'_ "

Kurama clenched his toes in his shoes, his hands relaxed at his sides.

"That's not fair," he said. She took a couple steps closer.

"' _Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day,_ '" she went on.

"' _And make me travel forth without my cloak,_

 _To let base clouds o'ertake me in my way,_

 _Hiding thy bravery in their rotten smoke?_

' _Tis not enough that through the cloud thou break,_

 _To dry the rain on my storm-beaten face,_

 _For no man well of such a salve can speak,_

 _That heals the wound, and cures not the disgrace:_

 _Nor can thy shame give physic to my grief;_

 _Though thou repent, yet I have still the loss:_

 _The offender's sorrow lends but weak relief_

 _To him that bears the strong offence's cross.'_ "

She touched his cheek. It was dry. Hers weren't.

"You're right," she said. "It wasn't fair. I'm sorry."

"Botan."

She disappeared.

*sonnet 33, 34—missing last 2 lines

K

"Still nothing?"

"Nothing."

He could hear Shizuru's judgmental look over the phone, no doubt a cigarette in her mouth and her nails ready to flick whoever in the forehead. Or him, at the moment.

"I dunno what you did, fox-boy," she said. "But she hasn't been corporeal in weeks."

"I see. Please, let me know if anything changes."

"Uh-huh."

Kurama hung up with a sigh. All right. Enough was enough. With one more quick glance around his apartment, he shifted to his spirit fox form and made his way to the mountain. This side of the world looked and felt different from the normal human world. He could see everything a human would plus more, as if colors and energies had slid sideways and hummed just at the edge of vision. It was, admittedly, a little trippy. But he could See further this way. This wasn't the Reikai of heavenly bureaucracies. This was the back alleys and secret passageways of angelic messengers, hellish emissaries, and all the little wisps of creatures In Between. Like him.

He reached the edge of the property, the mountain thrumming in his bones. It hurt his head like a too-bright light but he pushed through the barrier anyway, shivering at the feel on his skin. An alarm had surely gone off at that but hopefully, he would be lost in the information stream, dismissed as a non-threat.

The faint strains of a shamisen reached his ears and he followed them to a small cliff overlooking a canyon of rope bridges and carefully placed talismans. Botan sat on a larger rock, corporeal, plucking the strings with a brown tortoiseshell pick.

Kurama shifted back to his human form, eyes swimming a little, and walked towards her. The music stopped. She didn't look at him, didn't turn. She just sat there, the wind playing with the long, pale blue hair that hung loose down her back. No curls today.

He came around to kneel in front of her. She still didn't look at him, her amethyst eyes focused somewhere on the shamisen's neck. He licked his lips.

"Why am I being punished for this?" he asked. Botan opened her mouth, tried to speak, but all she could manage was a weak smile as tears started to trickle down her cheeks. He gently took her hand.

"' _If my dear love were but the child of state,'_ " he said.

"' _It might for Fortune's bastard be unfathered,_

 _As subject to Time's love or to Time's hate,_

 _Weeds among weeds, or flowers with flowers gathered._

 _No, it was builded far from accident;_

 _It suffers not in smiling pomp, nor falls_

 _Under the blow of thrilled discontent,_

 _Whereto th' inviting time our fashion calls:_

 _It fears not policy, that heretic,_

 _Which works on leases of short-number'd hours,_

 _But all alone stands hugely politic,_

 _That it nor grows with heat, nor drowns with showers._

 _To this I witness call the fools of time,_

 _Which die for goodness who have lived for crime.'_ "

Botan closed her eyes in a quiet sob and curled low over their hands.

"No more," she whispered. "This was my mistake. We are meant to love our charges, not fall in love with them. It's okay."

Narrowing his eyes, Kurama reached up with his other hand to lightly grip her chin. She gasped, flinching. He could smell the fear and her heart pounded like a rabbit in the brush.

"I am not so easily dismissed," he said. She blinked.

"Kur—"

He kissed her and she stopped arguing.

*sonnet 124


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

"Oh, it's no problem, sweetheart." Shiori set down the two mugs of tea and scooted the sugar closer to Botan. "Congratulations on the new job, by the way. Shuichi was so happy when he called. How's it going so far?"

"So far so good." Botan willed the blush away from her cheeks and took a sip of her tea. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Shuichi."

"Okay." Shiori straightened a little. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, everything's fine. He's fine. I just…" She cleared her throat. Honestly, just a nice, human lady. No threat.

Botan took a breath and smiled.

"I'm very fond of your son," she said. Shiori smiled back, a little smug.

"I know," she said. "He's very fond of you too. When he introduced you at the wedding, he just looked so…at peace. I think you're good for him."

And there was her cue to cry.

"I can't have children," Botan said, staring at her mug. "And I'm…worried you'll be…disappointed in him. If he's with me."

Shiori leaned over and took Botan's hand, squeezing it to make her look at her.

"The only way my son could disappoint me," she said. "Is if he locks himself into a life he hates because he's trying to make me happy."

"But you've been looking forward to it for years."

"I'm a hopeless romantic." Shiori shrugged. "Do you want children?"

"I…no. I don't think so. I found out so young, I never really had the chance to dream about it."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Botan, what do you want me to say?" The older woman leaned back in her chair. "'No, you cannot date my son! You're not a proper brood mare!' It's his life, sweetheart. It's your life. If you two are happy together, then so be it."

"We're not really 'together,'" Botan muttered. Dang it. She never used to blush this much.

"Were you hoping I'd be upset?" Shiori asked.

"I don't know. A little. Your son is brilliant and sweet and determined and loyal and I'm just…" She trailed off, gesturing helplessly at herself, but Shiori just smiled, a warmth in her eyes that made Botan feel safe and scared at the same time.

"Promise me something," Shiori said. "Promise me you'll be honest. To him and yourself."

Botan's eyes burned but she could feel the smile trying to pull at her lips.

"I promise."

A quick knock sounded, followed by the jingle of keys and the front door opening. Kurama walked into the kitchen, handsome as always, dressed in dark blue jeans and an untucked white dress shirt. But Botan's eyes were drawn to his face and the interesting dichotomy of a pleasant, closed-mouth smile and sharp, suspicious green eyes. Blushing, she hid behind her hand.

"He doesn't even have to _say_ anything," she said.

"I know." Shiori laughed. "He's always been like that." She swatted in his direction. "Stop that! I'm allowed to have girl talk too. You know, I used to be one."

"Mother." Kurama stepped closer to give her a hug and kiss her cheek. "You're almost as bad a liar as Botan."

"Oh, hush. Botan, sweetie, will you stay for dinner?"

"No, I really should be going." Botan fairly jumped to her feet. "But thank you for the tea and…everything."

"Sure." She caught her hand. "And you have my complete support, whatever you decide."

Bless this gentle-hearted woman!

"Thank you."

Shiori nodded.

"All right, Shuichi. I'll start dinner. Be a dear and walk Botan to the station? You know how crazy it gets sometimes."

"Yes, Mother." He waited politely while Botan got her purse and put her mug in the sink then led her out of the house. As they walked, he hooked his thumbs in his pockets and she couldn't help but steal glances. Looks like that really should be illegal. He'd already been unearthly as Youko but to be blessed a second time, in a second body, was almost enough to make her sick.

Then she saw the fangirls hovering just out of sight and she really did get nauseous.

"No privacy, huh?" she asked.

"A little less every day." He glanced sideways at her. "Something you want to share?"

"Nope." She lifted her face into the breeze. It smelt like car exhaust and fried grease. "Do you really not have any children?"

"I really don't."

"None? Your Kemetan friend started, like, four different lines."

"My Kemetan friend was unstable."

"So nothing. Not one. You can't possibly have been celibate that whole time; are you really that precise?"

"Yes, actually." He looked at her. "Children are a liability, Botan. And in the Makai?"

"You survived."

"Look what I became. Why are you fixating on this?"

"Because this is permanent!" She stopped, glaring with a sudden anger she didn't understand. "You will last much longer than this body and I do not share!"

" _Yes_." Kurama's smile grew a mischievous, even…predatory. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"This isn't a joke, you—" She moved to smack his arm but in the instant it took her to actually _lift_ her hand, he'd grabbed her shoulders, dragged her into a nearby ally, and put her against the wall.

"Raise your hand to me again," he said. "You'd best be ready to kill me."

She shuddered. His body was strong and unyielding against hers and his breath was hot on her neck.

"K-Kurama…"

He leaned in until his lips just brushed the shell of her ear.

"' _My glass shall not persuade me I am old,_

 _So long as youth and thou are of one date;_

 _But when in thee time's furrows I behold,_

 _Then look I death my days should expiate._

 _For all that beauty that doth cover thee,_

 _Is but the seemly raiment of my heart,_

 _Which in thy breast doth live, as thine in me:_

 _How can I then be elder than thou art?_

 _O! therefore, love, be of thyself so wary_

 _As I, not for myself, but for thee will;_

 _Bearing thy heart, which I will keep so chary_

 _As tender nurse her babe from faring ill._

 _Presume not on thy heart when mine is slain,_

 _Thou gave'st me thine not to give back again._ '"

The anger was gone, replaced with a melancholy that settled through her like mist.

"Why?" she asked. "Why me?"

His gaze softened and he gently touched her cheek with his thumb.

"Because you see me."

She rubbed her lips together and he dropped his hands until they rested on the wall on either side of her hips.

"If you don't want to do this," he said, sounding more like 'Shuichi.' "I'll respect your wishes. But your answer will not change mine."

A threat. A promise. Botan looked at the sharp, smooth planes of his face, the way his hair flowed like blood over his shoulders. Dropping her eyes, she reached up to touch his shirt, her slender fingers playing idly with the next button still fastened.

"' _My love is as a fever longing still,'"_ she said.

"' _For that which longer nurseth the disease;_

 _Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill,_

 _The uncertain sickly appetite to please._

 _My reason, the physician to my love,_

 _Angry that his prescriptions are not kept,_

 _Hath left me, and I desperate now approve_

 _Desire is death, which physic did except._

 _Past cure I am, no Reason is past care,_

 _And frantic-mad with evermore unrest;_

 _My thoughts and my discourse as madmen's are,_

 _At random from the truth vainly expressed.'_ "

She met his eyes and there was a heat in them she'd never seen before.

"' _For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright,_

 _Who art as black as hell, as dark as night.'_ "

His wicked smile made her core twitch as he leaned in to catch her mouth. The kiss on the mountain had been sweet, safe. This was not. This was fire and hunger and blood, the hands on her back and neck careful yet possessive as they pulled her closer. Shuichi Minamino and Youko Kurama, good but dangerous, comforting yet with a power that made her knees weak.

Panting, she ran her hands through his hair—finally!—and let her nails scrape gently against his scalp. He shivered, lifting his head.

"Botan…"

She giggled.

"Demon and angel," she said. "The oldest cliché in the book."

"Yes, well, clearly you have abysmal taste in men."

That startled a laugh out of her and she threw her arms around his neck.

*sonnet 22, 147


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"You really expect me to approve of this?"

Kurama pursed his lips but shrugged out of his jacket and went about turning on the lights as he always did. The living room light came on to reveal Koenma sitting on his couch in teenage-form, dressed in his usual tunic and cape.

"Is this the 'meet the father' talk?" Kurama asked.

"Meet the brother."

"Right." The fox sat in the arm chair and crossed his legs. "Because I would be obliterated by His voice."

"I could obliterate you with mine."

"Ooh. I don't think I've ever heard that tone from you before. Say something else."

Koenma narrowed his eyes.

"You are one of the most cunning, manipulative youkai that has ever walked the three worlds—"

"Am I blushing?"

"—Why should I agree to this? How can we even be sure of your allegiance?"

"You've known of my allegiance since Shuichi was nine. Surely you've seen my name in the Book."

"People give lip-service all the time."

"Not that well. Not in that Book."

Koenma folded his arms. No pacifier this time. He must be serious.

"She's not one of the original Host, correct?" Kurama asked.

"Correct."

"So there's no chance of any pesky nephilim. I've proven my worth many times over the years and wouldn't it be convenient to have one of my skill available for the new Guardian of Mt. Mitake?"

"Wouldn't it be convenient for you to be so close to a nexus of spiritual power while you grow stronger under the radar?"

Kurama closed his mouth and dropped his smile. Okay.

"I love her, your highness," he said. "And for the first time in my life, I understand what that means."

The older man stared at him, sighed, then looked up at the ceiling. Kurama watched his eyes shift and grow unfocused. For a long few minutes, they just sat there.

"Would you be willing to work with her?" Koenma asked.

"Pardon?"

Koenma looked at him.

"In the last twenty years," he said. "There've been invasions, cosmic fluxes, magic, alternate dimensions, M-Day, and while the rest of you were trying not to die in the Dark Tournament, the Ragnorok Cycle was finally broken. There is more spirit energy and people to use it now than there has ever been before and, in a few years, the Seven Items of the Black Land will awaken so I ask again, will you work with her?"

Kurama lifted his chin.

"Yes," he said.

"Will you stand with her, upholding your allegiance and hers, guarding those in your charge and guiding them in the Truth, until the End of Days?"

"I will."

Koenma stared hard, a power settling into the room that made the hair on the back of Kurama's neck stand on end. Then the prince nodded, stood, and swept towards the door. Kurama stood as well.

"Correct me," he said. "But aren't we both supposed to be present for the ceremony?"

Koenma snorted.

"You're not getting off the hook that easy." A flick of his cape. "I expect an invitation."

K

"Make a whip for me."

Kurama raised an eyebrow. He and Botan sat on the grass, in a sparse copse of trees a couple miles down from the temple. Night fell about an hour ago and the sky stretched above them in a sea of blue and black, studded with stars. It was chilly, but not enough to bother either of them.

"Why?" he asked. The woman smiled. She sat huddled between his legs, their hands entwined as she tried to capture all his fingers with her thumb.

"I want to see something," she said. "Please?"

"All right." Kurama reached up with his other hand, pulled a rose out of his hair, and flicked it effortlessly into a whip. Botan's eyes lit up and she grabbed the handle.

"Okay." She stood and he watched as she carefully wrapped the thorny weapon around her shoulders like other women would a snake. The rest of the whip hung to the ground and she stretched out her leg, slowly twisting her foot until the green vine wrapped loosely around her leg.

"Is this sexy?" she asked. "Or creepy?"

"It's unnerving," he said, standing. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

"You won't let me get hurt." But she let him untangle her anyway. True, he could conceivably turn it into a wreath of rosebuds soft enough to hold an infant and the thorns that caught her hair and pricked her jeans weren't sharp enough to really hurt her.

But human decency dictated he should be upset with the risk. Even if the idea of her wearing nothing but his vines made his mouth water.

"So what does do it for you?" Botan asked. He put the rose back in his hair and pulled her down to their still-warm spot.

"You," he said. There, the nice, sweet answer. But she wasn't a schoolgirl weaned on romance novels; she was a millennia-old reaper. Leaning closer, she brushed some hair out of his face and gave a smile full of secrets and mischief. He was used to giving looks like that, used to being the smartest person in the room, but it was…different being on this side of it.

Not 'bad' different.

Kurama caught her mouth, tender and slow, and after a second, Botan sighed, her whole body relaxing against him.

"There," he said, cupping her cheek. "When you melt into the kiss. When you surrender."

"Mmm." Her eyelids lowered, giving her a sleepy, contented look. "And someday, when I surrender for real?"

He groaned, only half in jest, and nuzzled against her neck. She smelled like the forest and rain and he took a deep, indulgent breath.

"What were they like?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"The others. Before me. Surely I'm not your first love."

"No." She started playing with his hair again, her slender fingers tangling in the blood-red strands and sending shivers down his spine. "Just the only one I can keep."

"Speaking of," he said, lifting his head. "Koenma wants me to work with you. On the mountain."

"Oh?"

"You disagree?"

Botan tilted her head, thoughtful, and traced her finger gently down his cheek.

"After," she said. "I want you to graduate. I want you to find a career you love and live the life you never would've imagined in the Makai."

"And leave you here with all these strong, powerful youkai?" He asked, smirking.

"' _How careful was I when I took my way,_

 _Each trifle under truest bars to thrust,_

 _That to my use is might be unused stay_

 _From hands of falsehood, in sure wards of trust!_

 _But thou, to whom my jewels trifles are,_

 _Most worthy comfort, now my greatest grief,_

 _Thou best of dearest, and mine only care,_

 _Art left the prey of every vulgar thief._

 _Thee have I not locked up in any chest,_

 _Save where thou art not, though I feel thou art,_

 _Within the gentle closure of my breast,_

 _From whence at pleasure thou mayst come and part;_

 _And even thence thou wilt be stol'n I fear,_

 _For truth proves thievish for a prize so dear.'_ "

Botan rolled her eyes.

"You can't steal what's already stolen," she said.

"I beg to differ."

"You're paranoid."

"I'm a thief." Softening his voice, Kurama leaned in and dropped slow, hot kisses on her neck. "Indulge me. Grant me some peace if you're to send me away."

She sighed, though in exasperation or pleasure, he wasn't sure.

"' _So are you to my thoughts as food to life,'_ " she said.

"' _Or as sweet-season'd showers are to the ground;_

 _And for the peace of you I hold such strife_

 _As 'twixt a miser and his wealth is found._

 _Now proud as an enjoyer, and anon_

 _Doubting the filching age will steal his treasure;_

 _Now counting best to be with you alone,_

 _Then better'd that the world may see my pleasure:_

 _Sometime all full with feasting on your sigh,_

 _And by and by clean starved for a look;_

 _Possessing or pursuing no delight_

 _Save what is had, or must from you be took._

 _Thus do I pine and surfeit day by day,_

 _Or gluttoning on all, or all away.'_ "

"Cheeky," he said, smirking at her. "But I almost believe you."

"Of course you do. I'm adorable."

"Eh."

"Hey!" She smacked his shoulder and he pounced, lightning-quick, pinning her to the ground with one hand holding both of her wrists. With his other hand, he held a dagger made of a leaf and held it at her throat.

"Botan, dear, I thought we discussed this."

"We did." Her amethyst eyes never wavered and her pulse barely jumped. "Threatening a Reaper. That's bold, even for you."

He opened his mouth to respond when he felt something poke his neck. Freezing, he glanced sideways. Oh. Her wings. They surrounded him, the long feathers flowing up and around until the edge of one gently caressed his throat. One move of her angel form, one twitch, and he'd be about eight inches shorter.

"And you cornering a fox," he said, the edge of the feather flirting with his pulse. Damn. Just… _damn_. Beautiful, deadly little Botan.

"Well." He shivered, his eyes shifting gold while he tried not to clench his teeth. "We seem to be at an impasse."

"So we do." Botan smiled at him then carefully withdrew. Her wings vanished and she moved away, kneeling in front of him with her hands raised in…surrender? An entirely different shiver raced through him. Giving him the choice, giving him the control.

"Come here." He reached for her, cradling her slender neck in his hands, and kissed her. "Stay with me tonight. Out here."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I won't marry you tonight," he said. "Promise."

She smiled.

"Okay."

*sonnet 48, 75


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Do I need to wish you luck on your exams?" Botan walked with Kurama down the great staircase, her hand hooked safely in the crook of his arm.

"No," he said breezily. "But you could say it anyway."

"Good luck, my brilliant Archimedes!"

"Thank you; that's very kind."

Grinning, Botan rested her head on his arm. Such a perfect night. No sex and not even the barest hint of pressure from the younger man. He'd just held her. She'd woken up sore, cold, and with a tree root in her back that yes, was actually a tree root. But he was safe and warm and…

She chuckled. Silly. All these centuries and one man could turn her giggly.

"What?" Kurama asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering how your fangirls would react if they knew you spent the night with me under the stars."

"They'd kill you."

"So casual. You do have fangirls at the university, don't you? Did they follow you or did they start again on their own?"

"Both. It's like a spontaneous population of parasitic algae."

They were two-thirds down the steps, within youkai-sight of the dirt road, and he stopped on the step below her, turning with the driest look ever.

"You can stop grinning now," he said. She smiled wider just to do it then laughed and slid her arms around his neck.

"They can flock to you all they want," she said.

"' _Let me not to the marriage of true minds_

 _Admit impediments. Love is not love_

 _Which alters when it alteration finds,_

 _Or bends with the remover to remove:_

 _O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,_

 _That looks on tempests and is never shaken;_

 _It is the star to every wandering bark,_

 _Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken._

 _Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks_

 _Within his bending sickle's compass come;_

 _Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,_

 _But bears it out even to the edge of doom._

 _If this be error and upon me proved,_

 _I never writ, nor no woman ever loved.'_ "

Kurama smiled and stepped back.

"I'll see you later," he said. Reaching up, he carefully picked up the blue opal necklace and kissed the stone, never breaking eye contact.

"My lady."

Her heart fluttered. Yup. Hopelessly smitten.

*sonnet 116

B

"Huh."

It had been a joke. It was supposed to be a joke mocking his feminine good looks, soft voice, and way with flowers. But here she stood, staring down at the courtyard where strings of girls and, surprisingly, boys pointed and whispered and _gushed_.

Over her fox.

Scowling slightly, Botan chewed on her bottom lip. All right, yes, Youko Kurama had been ridiculously popular in the Makai. Impossibly strong, cunning, beautiful. He'd been a living legend that lived up to the legend and that had earned him admirers of every kind, male, female, or other. Of course, he'd been…different then. He was a pragmatist down to his bones but without Shiori's moral guidance, he'd been much more of an _active_ pragmatist.

This many naïve young people slavering all over him…She pushed the thought away. It didn't matter. Youko Kurama had new allegiances now, new priorities. And the man she'd come to know and love didn't look at the hordes like they were free meals—in any sense of that phrase. No, he looked to be just trying to cross the quad without getting mauled.

It wasn't working well.

She smiled at the feel of his youki snapping and cracking. He was getting annoyed; how cute. They were still following him though and that bothered a very petty, very human part of her.

Flipping open her phone, she dialed Shizuru.

B

"Damn." Kurama closed his eyes. The library. It was supposed to be safe and, more importantly, quiet. But if they weren't trying to hurt him, they were trying to grope him. Not that they could really do either; his strength and speed prevented any real damage. But he was still Shuichi Minamino and he still had an image to uphold.

So instead of going up to his favorite table in his favorite secluded corner upstairs, Kurama turned around and headed to the coffee shop on the first floor instead. Smaller area and there might be a line but there were four doors outside and he needed either caffeine or a rush of blood over his claws.

"Medium coffee, black, please."

The girl nodded, smiling a little too brightly as she finished the transaction, and he stepped to the side to wait. Outside, he was perfectly calm, even bored. Inside, he was screaming and swearing at the boy making his drink to quit ogling and _move_.

A stir, the faintest change in scent. He turned to face the northernmost door then blinked.

Well well.

Botan strolled inside dressed in straight, dark-wash jeans and a black, ruffled crop top that bared her shoulders and her smooth stomach. The black fabric didn't leave much to the imagination yet it somehow managed to be tasteful while it hugged her breasts and showed some cleavage. Her long blue hair hung in a braid over her right shoulder and she held a pair of black designer sunglasses in her left hand. She walked right up to him.

"Hello, sweetheart," she said.

"Hi." They were eye-level—she must be wearing boots—and nearly everyone in the café was staring at her butt. A very male pride welled up in his chest as he slid a hand onto her hip.

"Didn't expect you today," he said. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good." She shrugged, coyly glancing over her shoulder at the others with the tip of one sunglass leg on the corner of her mouth. "Just wanted to surprise you. Did you already order?"

"Suchi?" The boy held out his drink, eyes wide as they flicked back and forth between the two of them. Kurama took the drink, pulled Botan to his side, and walked out of the coffee shop.

"I love you," Kurama said, taking a sip of his coffee. Botan laughed and threw her arm around his waist.

"I love you too," she said. "It's been a couple weeks. I missed you."

"And got jealous."

"Are you complaining?"

"No, ma'am." He swept his gaze around the sidewalk. Trees and flowers dotted the spaces between the buildings, giving the campus a calmer feeling than many places in Tokyo. But he could see the students watching them, feel their eyes, although not solely on him. It was nice. For about twenty seconds. Then he slid his hand from the curve of her waist down to the curve of her hip, his thumb hooking in the belt loop.

Botan straightened a little, her dark red lips pulling into a smirk.

"Shuichi," she drawled. "Are you getting possessive?"

"Of course not. I would never be so crude as to grab my girlfriend's ass in public."

He twitched his hand and she giggled.

"I do have a class to get to," he said.

"I know. I won't keep you." Spinning on her toes, she hugged his neck and pressed her long-legged body flush against his. He smiled into her neck.

"' _No want of conscience hold it that I call_ ,'" he whispered.

 _Her love, for whose dear love I rise and fall._ '"

"Oh!" She pulled away, eyes sparkling. "And here I thought you were a gentleman."

"Find the rest of that shirt and I might be."

Botan flipped her hair and sauntered away, the jaunty sway of her hips drawing his eyes and smile. And if this particular smile had a little fang to it, well, no one noticed.

*sonnet 151—yes, it is referencing _that_.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The semester passed. Kurama aced his exams, impressing his teachers to the point the Head of the Law School personally called him into his office. The irony of it all was almost too much. The Legendary Bandit, Youko Kurama, a lawyer?

He was still laughing to himself when he caught a familiar scent on the wind.

"Hiei."

The dark-haired youkai flashed to his side and fell into step.

"We missed you at the wedding," Kurama said. Hiei just scoffed.

"I doubt that," he said. "You're going through more school?"

"Well, at least it's new material now. I'm thinking of becoming a prosecuting attorney." He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Those are the people that argue against the accused in a criminal case."

"Yes, I know what they are." Though he sounded peeved, Hiei's eyes glinted with mischief. Good. He got the joke too. "So you mean to carve out a territory here?"

"Yes." Now that he said it, he rather liked the idea. "I think I will. Nothing too ambitious, just something close to the mountain."

Hiei stopped. Kurama stopped.

"Something wrong?" Kurama asked. Hiei narrowed his eyes then grabbed the fox's hand and brought it up to his face.

"Hiei, I had no idea—"

"You've changed."

"Humans tend to do that. This body is nineteen years old."

"No." Hiei threw his hand away. "You've changed. The way you smell, the way you taste."

"My, that's direct."

At Hiei's glare, Kurama grinned and started walking again.

"Yes," he said, flexing his hand. "I've noticed…things. At first, I thought it was simply this body finally settling after puberty and all the training. But lately, the energy feels different. I think perhaps my youki is making my body adjust, instead of the other way around."

"You're absorbing this form."

A tingle passed over Kurama's skin and he glanced over to see a faint glow under Hiei's headband.

"You're not aging like you were," the younger man said. "In a few years, you might stop aging completely."

Kurama looked down at his palm.

"' _Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic soul_

 _Of the wide world dreaming on things to come,_

 _Can yet the lease of my true love control,_

 _Supposed as forfeit to a confined doom.'_ "

"You're nauseating," Hiei said.

"Ah." Kurama looked over, his hair flipping slightly in the breeze. "You disapprove?"

"I can't even feign interest in your love life."

"Good. Then I won't do so with yours."

"Good."

"How is Mukuro, by the way?"

"I will end you."

Kurama laughed, somehow feeling lighter than he had in months.

"Come," he said. "I've been far too tame lately."

Hiei grinned.

*sonnet 107

K

He was exhausted. Happier than he'd been in a long time, but well and thoroughly worn out. Botan smiled. Hiei visited so rarely, she was glad the two got to spend time together. And she wasn't assigned to either of them for parole purposes so it wasn't even her job to clean up the mess. Win-win.

That was yesterday, the last of a properly wild weekend. Now she sat on a boulder, next to a pretty little stream, with Kurama sitting on the ground at her feet with his head in her lap. It was a silly thing, really, but she couldn't help herself. His hair was so beautiful, such a deep, vibrant red, and it was so soft. It flowed through her fingers like silk.

So she indulged. And he let her, relaxing under her touch as he told her the somewhat censored version of his time with Hiei.

"Did he say when he'll be back?" she asked.

"No. Lord Mukuro's keeping him busy."

She could hear his mischievous smirk even though she couldn't see it.

"Be nice," she said.

"I was. Not as nice as her apparently…"

Botan tugged a lock of his hair, making him chuckle, and a comfortable silence fell. The first few kids for their 'camp' would arrive soon. Shizuru didn't advertise. They thought it best to just put out some feelers and let the kids come to them. At least at first. Botan agreed to just watch this summer, Unseen, and when the children left, she'd talk with Shizuru and Yusuke. While she did support their idea, there was an element of danger. Spiritually aware children were like open wounds, just waiting to be infected.

Hmm. Maybe she should talk to Hiei herself, see if he could keep an eye out along the Tokyo crossing for smaller youkai.

A soft sigh made her look down. Kurama had settled even further, his arms slack, his shoulders loose. As she ran her hand through his hair, she felt the muscles in his neck relax little by little until he was practically nuzzling her leg.

"You don't have to perform, you know," she said.

"Hmm?"

"Your reactions." Botan gently dragged her nails down his scalp and he shivered, a little half-moan catching in his throat just loud enough for her to hear. "You don't have to play-act what you think I expect. It's okay."

Kurama lifted his head.

"' _Sin of self-love possesseth all mine eye_ ,'" he said.

"' _And all my soul, and all my every part;_

 _And for this sin there is no remedy,_

 _It is so grounded inward in my heart._

 _Methinks no face so gracious is as mine,_

 _No shape so true, no truth of such account;_

 _And for myself mine own worth do define,_

 _As I all other in all worths surmount._

 _But when my glass shows me myself indeed_

 _Beated and chopp'd with tanned antiquity,_

 _Mine own self-love quite contrary I read;_

 _Self so self-loving were iniquity._

' _Tis thee, myself, that for myself I praise,_

 _Painting my age with beauty of thy days.'_ "

He smiled and his eyes were clearer than one might expect from a man on the edge of dozing.

"I am an arrogant creature," he said. "Forgive me. I like my games."

"I know. And I just want you to know that this—" She leaned down and placed a hand over his heart. "—is safe."

His eyes softened, suddenly much older than the nineteen-year-old body he held. His hand came up to cover hers and with the next breath, light rippled through him. Red bled into white, green into gold. Limbs lengthened, strengthened, and two pointed ears emerged from just behind his temples.

The smile he gave her, tender, vulnerable, shy, almost broke her heart.

"I know." He lifted her hand to the base of his left ear and slowly lowered his head back to her lap. She could feel the tension now. The body at her feet could rip through armies, strung with muscles that felt more like steel or mithril than flesh. Those muscles were tight now, wound, and he held himself up like he was trying not to put his full weight on her.

This was the fox. This was the millennia-old cynic that grew cold and manipulative to survive. Every kiss, every romantic gesture, while true, always had a point. Because it had to. Because if it didn't, he'd lose control and that was unacceptable.

A small, sad smile on her lips, Botan started running her hand through his hair again. Rhythmic, steady. He thought he was so smart, thought he had so many secrets.

"' _Some glory in their birth, some in their skill_ ,'" she said.

 _Some in their wealth, some in their body's force,_

 _Some in their garments though new-fangled ill;_

 _Some in their hawks and hounds, som in their horse;_

 _And every humour hath his adjuncy pleasure,_

 _Wherein it finds a joy above the rest:_

 _But these particulars are not my measure,_

 _All these I better in one general best._

 _Thy love is better than high birth to me,_

 _Richer than wealth, prouder than garments' cost,_

 _Of more delight than hawks and horses be;_

 _And having thee, of all men's pride I boast:_

 _Wretched in this alone, that thou mayst take_

 _All this away, and me most wretched make.'_ "

Kurama chuckled weakly.

"The next two pieces talk about how he's become a cuckold," he said. "Trying to tell me something?"

"Just accept the sap and hush." She moved to the base of his ear, gently rubbing behind it. Fine white and grey hairs covered it, reminding her of a kitten's fur, and she let her fingers trail over the downy softness. His eyelashes fluttered.

"You're too good for me," he said.

"Yes." She laughed and after a second's hesitation, he joined her. When he settled this time, he felt a little more relaxed.

"I love you, you know," she said. "All of you."

"I know." He flicked his ear and she kept rubbing.

*sonnet 62, 91


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"They're hurting." Botan appeared next to Yusuke on the temple steps as the last car drove away. No more children now. School started up again in a few days and the mountain had returned to the youkai and martial artists.

"Dammit," Yusuke muttered. "I remember this. I _was_ this. I just—" Huffing, he ran an angry hand through his hair and turned to walk back up the steps. "Did we make a difference? Did it matter?"

"It mattered." Botan folded her arms in her kimono sleeves. "But it's not over. You remember how angry you were. That didn't just go away in a few days."

"No, but I'm a freak."

"Yusuke. It matters."

He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, glaring at the steps.

"Keiko wants to be a teacher," he said. "I never liked school, never got anything useful out of it. But…I'm only nineteen. I don't wanna screw 'em up."

"Okay."

He looked at her.

"I need to learn more," he said. "Do you have any contacts? Anyone that knows how to deal with this kinda thing?"

"I know a few professors. Their spirit energy isn't that strong but they're good people, honest. Not all of them are _here_ but I can arrange a meeting."

"Thanks."

"This isn't high-level, right? No teams, no superheroes."

"No, I just want 'em safe. I'll do whatever I have to."

Botan smiled, tilting her head. He got attached quicker than she thought he would. There must have been a child that kickstarted all this, maybe even from before Koenma. With a little effort, she could find him but that was private, if anything in Yusuke's life was private. She'd respect it unless there was a danger to the mountain.

"So how are you and Kurama?" Yusuke asked.

"I'm sorry?"

He grinned.

"You and Kurama. Bout damn time, if you ask me. Thought he'd never make a move."

Her face flushed up to her hairline.

"That's none of your business, Mr. Urameshi."

"Oh ho! Boy, I really hit a nerve, huh?" He bumped her with his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "Relax. I'm happy for ya."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We both are. Keiko thought it would take longer but yeah."

"Oh my gosh, were you two _betting_ —"

"No, no, of course not!" A smirk. "I bet Kuwabara."

"You are insufferable!" She shoved him back then bit her lip. "Who won?"

"I did. He said Kurama'd be a gentleman and woo you for a while and all that other girly crap he likes so much. I said the fox was too calculating for that, he'd already made up his mind, and he'd make his move before we turned twenty."

He smiled, wide and toothy.

"I won twenty bucks."

"Oh my gosh." Botan sighed, rubbing her face.

"Aw, don't be like that. We're just harmless idiots, that's all. You're happy, right?"

"Yes." She smiled at him. "Yes, I'm happy. Miss him sometimes. He's decided to go to law school and that doesn't leave a lot of free time."

"Youko Kurama a lawyer. That's terrifying."

"I think it's hilarious."

"Of course you would; you wanna bang him."

"Yusuke!" She swung at him, he dodged, which, of course, meant she had to chase him down and kill him.

B

' _No longer mourn for me when I am dead_

 _Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell_

 _Give warning to the world that I am fled_

 _From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell:_

 _Nay, if you read this line, remember not_

 _The hand that writ it, for I love you so,_

 _That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,_

 _If thinking on me then should make you woe._

 _O! if, I say, you look upon this verse,_

 _When I perhaps compounded am with clay,_

 _Do not so much as my poor name rehearse;_

 _But let your love even with my life decay;_

 _Lest the wise world should look into your moan,_

 _And mock you with me after I am gone._

 _O! lest the world should task you to recite_

 _What merit lived in me, that you should love_

 _After my death, dear love, forget me quite,_

 _For you in me can nothing worthy prove._

 _Unless you would decide some virtuous lie,_

 _To do more for me than mine own desert,_

 _And hang more praise upon deceased i_

 _Than niggard truth would willingly impart:_

 _O! lest your true love may seem false in this_

 _That you for love speak well of my untrue,_

 _My name be buried where my body is,_

 _And live no more to shame nor me nor you._

 _For I am ashamed by that which I bring forth,_

 _And so should you, to love things nothing worth._ '

Botan touched the letter folded in her kimono-pocket and floated down to Tokyo U's campus. An innocuous Tuesday afternoon, the day had turned out to be rather pretty. The humidity had dropped, a sure sign of fall, but winter's chill hadn't quite bitten yet. Students milled around in jeans and t-shirts, cute skirts and blouses. It was beautiful.

Or it should have been.

As her feet touched the ground, Botan turned visible. Her kimono shifted seamlessly to a long-sleeved, knee-length burnt orange dress and black flats. No one paid her any mind. She was just another young woman wondering around, looking for…ah. There he was.

She stepped off the sidewalk and towards a bench sitting under a large dogwood tree. Kurama sat on it with his legs crossed, dressed in charcoal grey slacks and a black turtleneck. The tableau should have been serene, the handsome young man sitting peacefully beneath the floating petals. But his eyes…

Botan sat next to him. His hands, laced in his lap, tightened.

"Bad day?" she asked.

The muscles in his jaw jumped; he was grinding his teeth. It was a long moment before he spoke, no doubt trying to get his voice under control.

"Forgive me, Botan," he said softly. "I'm afraid I'm not very good company right now."

"Okay." She folded her hands and let her gaze drift. The building across from them seemed to be an art building of some kind, maybe painting or figure-drawing. She could smell the dust on the students' fingers as they left.

"I might have to change my plans," he said eventually.

"Okay." Botan looked at him. "You've been getting ideas."

"Concerns." He looked at her, his green eyes dark with…not anger. Not _just_ anger. "I can make a difference. But it requires…becoming something I haven't been in a long time."

"You want to rebuild your empire. Here in the Ningenkai."

"If I'm to be of use, I need information."

"Are you worried about something specific?"

"No." He licked his lips. "Yes. Koenma hinted at something I hadn't had to worry about for years and, if that's true…The world is getting smaller. Botan…"

She smiled gently.

"You are a brilliant strategist," she said. "You're a genius. If you feel you need to do this, I trust you."

"Really. Do you understand what this means? What I may have to do?"

"' _Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck;_ '" she said.

"' _And yet methinks I have Astronomy,_

 _But not to tell of good or evil luck,_

 _Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality;_

 _Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell,_

 _Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind,_

 _Or say with princes if it shall go well_

 _By oft predict that I in heaven find:_

 _But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive,_

 _And, constant stars, in them I read such art_

 _As truth and beauty shall together thrive.'_ "

She touched under his chin.

"I believe in you," she said. "So long as you remember to whom you belong."

His eyes grew a little heated and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Maybe you should remind me," he said. His kiss was a little distant this time but no less artful for it, and she melted against him, sliding her hand into his hair.

"I need to see your contract," he said. "I need to know what I have."

"Okay. But I don't want you to compromise yourself. Your allegiance…"

"I know." He gently cupped her cheek with his hand and kissed her forehead. "I'll figure it out."

Nodding, Botan settled into his side with his arm around her shoulders.

"No more of this 'after' talk," she said. "Whether this body dies or not is irrelevant. You're mine."

He smiled.

"Yes, ma'am."

*sonnet 71 and 72, 14—missing last 3 lines


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Shuichi Minamino, aged twenty-five, licensed to practice law in Japan, Great Britain, and the United States of America with favorable connections to firms in eleven other countries.

Youko Kurama, aged 3,725, Legendary Bandit of Makai, Contract-servant of the Reikai, and now current head of an information network that spanned the length of the Ningenkai.

The humans hadn't known his name at first, but they learned. It wasn't his power that garnered fear and respect; it was his skill. It was his mind. And while Yusuke and the Kuwabaras did their best to take care of their little part of Tokyo, Kurama cast his gaze elsewhere. Koenma was right. There were so many powerbases, so many different _kinds_ of powerbases that needed to be analyzed, assessed. Slowly, the White Fox learned them all.

"' _Against that time, if ever that time come,_

 _When I shall see thee frown on my defects,_

 _When as thy love hath cast his utmost sum,_

 _Called to that audit by advis'd respects…'_ "

Kurama looked up. New apartment in a new part of Tokyo. The earnings of a ruthlessly successful prosecuting attorney were very nice indeed and he now lived in a high-rise condo of glass and smooth metal. Plants of all kinds lined the windowsills, pleasantly chaotic, and antique weapons hung on the walls. How boring to be able to buy expensive things instead of steal them, but it was amusing that he'd personally experienced these artifacts.

He'd made some of them famous, after all.

Botan walked past all of it, drifting through the glass that made up his balcony and straight to his place at the island.

"' _Against that time when thou shalt strangely pass,'_ " she went on.

"' _And scarcely greet me with that sun, thine eye,_

 _When love, converted from the thing it was,_

 _Shall reasons find of settled gravity;_

 _Against that time do I ensconce me here,_

 _Within the knowledge of mine own desert,_

 _And this my hand, against my self uprear,_

 _To guard the lawful reasons on thy part:_

 _To leave poor me thou has the strength of laws,_

 _Since why to love I can allege no cause._ '"

"Impossible." Kurama stood, holding open his arms, and she stepped into a hug.

"' _Is it thy will, thy image should keep open_ ,'" he said.

"' _My heavy eyelids to the weary night?_

 _Does thou desire my slumbers should be broken,_

 _While shadows like to thee do mock my sigh?_

 _Is it thy spirit that thou send'st from thee_

 _So far from home into my deeds to pry,_

 _To find out shames and idle hours in me,_

 _To scope and tenor of thy jealousy?_ '"

He kissed her forehead, pulling back enough to smile at her.

"' _O, no! thy love, though much, is not so great:_

 _It is my love that keeps mine eye awake:_

 _Mine own true love that doth my rest defeat,_

 _To play the watchman ever for thy sake:_

 _For thee watch I, whilst thou dost wake elsewhere,_

 _From me far off, with others all too near.'_ "

Botan sagged against him, nuzzling into his chest where he'd left his shirt open a few buttons.

"I missed you too," she said. "Are you home for a while?"

"Yes, I'm home." Spirits, she smelled good. So many weeks of triple-meanings and fake smiles. It was exhilarating, the game. He reveled in being the smartest person in the room, pulling one over on those who thought otherwise.

Still, it was so, so good to hold her again. No masks, no agendas. Just her beautiful smile.

"Have dinner with me," he said.

"Are you cooking?"

"I can."

That smile.

"Yes, please," she said. "I'll even get cute."

Stepping around him, she moved to sit at the island and, as he watched, her kimono melted. The pink skirt shortened and changed to black, the sleeves disappearing to show her pale shoulders as the fabric tightened to hug her curves. And the back, dear Inari. Her hair wrapped in smooth curls over her shoulder and the fabric split from the back of her neck down to her lower back, revealing her smooth, bare back. He sighed.

"You want me to behave," he said. "And then you wear that."

She grinned at him over her shoulder.

"Go make something yummy."

"Tease." He dropped a kiss on her shoulder as he walked past and started making some seafood alfredo. "Tell me about the mountain."

So they talked, trading stories and embarrassing moments while he cooked and they ate. By the time they got to dessert, they had both laughed so hard their sides ached.

"I have made so much money this year on Chu alone!" Botan gasped, tears in her eyes.

"Isn't that against the rules?"

"All it says is that I can only affect the outcome so much," she said primly. "It never says I can't bet on said outcome."

"Mmm." He took a sip of his wine, his eyes shutting halfway. "Devious."

At her wink, she grinned and took a bite of her ice-cream. She'd brought it, a premium, slow-churned blend of honey and vanilla, and he was a bit tempted to lick the bowl.

"Come here." He settled for tasting the honey still in her mouth, swallowing her soft moan as she tangled her fingers in his hair. After a moment, though, she put a hand on his chest.

"Too much?" he asked, pulling back. Botan smiled and he felt a little twinge of pride at how flushed and swollen her lips looked.

"An old friend of yours has resurfaced," she said.

"Why is it always one of _my_ friends?" Straightening a little, Kurama took a sip of his wine. "Who is it this time?"

She waited until he looked at her, and this time, her smile was sad and aged.

"Bakurah," she said. His mouth went dry.

"And the host?"

"A boy, barely fifteen. He just transferred to Domino High."

Domino. That was about an hour away by car. His mind started whirling with the possibilities, the threats of having such a dangerous creature so close.

"There's more," Botan said. "The Puzzle's been solved."

He sighed.

"So it's time."

"Looks that way. Things will move very quickly from now on, both here and abroad."

"I see." He tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "Well. Sooner than I expected but it will be nice to flex again."

"I do love watching you work."

"Well, who am I to disappoint?"

They shared a smile then Botan slid to her feet and gave him a kiss.

"Good night, Kurama. I'm glad you're home."

"Good night." He waited until she got almost to the balcony door. "Wait, Botan. You forgot something."

"I did?"

"Mm-hmm. Kind of surprised, really." Standing, he walked over to her, took her left hand, and slipped a platinum and emerald ring onto her third finger. "There. That's better."

Botan blinked down at her hand. She smiled then the bright smile shifted into a sexy little smirk that made him want to do very ungentlemanly things to her against the nine-foot windowpane.

"Always so sure you've won," she said.

"Yes." He put his hands in his pockets and grinned. "Am I wrong?"

"Not at all." Grabbing a handful of his shirt, Botan pulled him in for hot, passionate kiss that set his blood on fire.

"We'll go to your mother's tomorrow," she said. He shook his hair, trying to compose himself.

"All right," he said. "Meet you here at six."

*sonnet 49, 61


End file.
